The White House budget office has instructed federal agencies to prepare to fire a ton of people (aka 'reduction-in-force' plans) that could permanently eliminate jobs in the event of a government shutdown - the latest twist in the latest shutdown groundhog day - effectively challenging Democrats to a game of chicken. 

In a memo shared with agencies Wednesday, the Office of Management and Budget said departments must identify programs where discretionary funding will lapse on Oct. 1 and no alternative source is available. Instead of a typical furlough, OMB has told agencies to get ready for permanent reductions - starting with positions that are out of alignment with President Donald Trump's priorities.

In the past, affected employees were furloughed on a temporary basis and reinstated once Congress approved new spending. Not this time - as OMB Director Russ Vought is using the prospect of deep cuts as leverage against the Democrats.

"Programs that did not benefit from an infusion of mandatory appropriations will bear the brunt of a shutdown," reads the OMB memo - with agencies instructed to submit their proposed RIF plans and to issue notices to employees who might otherwise be excepted or furloughed during a lapse in funding, Politico reports.

Core services - including Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits, military operations, law enforcement, immigration enforcement and air traffic control - would continue regardless of a shutdown, according to an OMB official familiar with the guidance.

At the heart of the deadlock, Democrats are demanding that any short-term spending measure include an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that are due to expire, as well as broader negotiations on domestic priorities. Republicans, by contrast, are pushing to advance a leaner stopgap bill already passed by the House that would fund the government through Nov. 21 while largely preserving Trump administration priorities and holding the line on additional healthcare spending.

The memo arrives days before the Sept. 30 deadline to avert a lapse in government funding. The House has passed a short-term measure to keep operations running through Nov. 21, but Senate Democrats have rejected the plan, insisting on negotiations over a broader bipartisan package that could extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.

The OMB also said that if Congress passes a clean stopgap bill before the fiscal year deadline, nobody will get fired (aside from the usual firings). 

Democrats, of course, are absolutely beside themselves - with Senate Minority Leader Chuck 'hamburger expert' Schumer (D-NY) claiming that the plan confirmed his warnings during the last shutdown standoff in March, when he argued that it would enable the Trump administration to accelerate cuts to government programs. Schumer, who will keep his job no matter what, called the OMB memo "an attempt at intimidation." 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries struck a sharper tone, warning voters in Virginia - home to many federal employees - that the administration’s policies were “ruining lives and punishing hardworking families already struggling with Trump Tariffs and inflation.”

With just days left before government funding runs out, the OMB memo underscores the potential for this shutdown fight to reshape the federal workforce in ways not seen in previous budget battles.